Four Sins
by inyron
Summary: Story three added. James juggles his old friends and his new girlfriend in an effort to keep everthing perfect.
1. Prologue

  
  
  
  
Four Sins: Prologue   
  
  
  
A/N- This is the first of six very loosely related short stories taking a close look at the Marauders. The next four parts have original plots, and will relate more to the title. I just think this event, Remus' unveiling, is so important to character and motivation that it should be used as an introduction. I love feedback, either here or in my email. Many thanks to my wonderful and timely beta-er, Zsenya. Any remaining mistakes are all mine.   
  
Oh, and by the way, none of these characters are mine, and I'm not making a profit off of anything.  
  
*****  
  
  
  
After an hour of restless tossing and turning, James Potter finally crawled   
out of his bed and crept silently down to the Gryffindor common room,   
whose solitude and familiarity was receptive to a good case of brooding. James was not really accustomed to brooding; he would be the first to   
admit he didn't usually have a reason. He did, after all, have a very   
satisfying life. Great, supportive parents, as proud of him as anything- too proud and doting, if that could be a problem, (which he sometimes, at 12 years old) thought it was. Great marks in school, without the bother of studying- well, not too much. A spot on the Quidditch team in just his second year- that, he valued over almost anything else. Flying had come naturally to him since he was a young child, and had never lost its wonder. And he was good at Quidditch too, good enough to womp Slytherin last October (he had scored 80 points!) And to massacre Hufflepuff last week (he had scored... well, let's just say "lots" and spare the poor Hufflepuff Keeper the shame.)  
  
James bit back a smile remembering that game and tried to find his   
train of thought again. Right, his life. His friends. Great friends,   
friends that beat out even Quidditch in importance and entertainment   
value. He was rather popular in his year, despite the fact that most of the   
teachers favored him. The only people he didn't get along with- and   
sometimes warred with- were the Slytherins, and that was OK, because they   
were... well, Slytherins. He didn't really care what they thought of   
him. As Sirius would say, "If the opposing fans are cheering for you,   
then you're doing something wrong. Better that they be throwing things   
at you. Like those hard little model Bludgers. Why do they sell those things at games anyway?" Ah yes, Sirius. Fellow Gryffindor, fellow irreverent scholar, fellow mischief maker. His best friend. James didn't bother biting back a smile this time, but a couple quickly-wiped-away tears followed too, and James turned his attention to his other two roommates. Peter. Well, Peter was OK. He kind of hero worshiped James, but that didn't annoy James so much. It meant he never ratted them out to the teachers, and covered up for them occasionally, when they needed it. All in all, an asset.  
  
And then there was Remus. The reason he was down here so late on a   
rather chilly school-night. Remus was... well, Remus was a lot of things. Nicer than anyone. Quiet, but with as good a sense of humor as the   
best of them. Good at school, but one of those studiers. A very good   
friend, or so he thought. No, he was a good friend. James and Sirius had   
become very close with him. But he was the reason James was down here   
so late this night. Because Remus was, as he and Sirius were forced to   
face, a liar. Ever since they had come to Hogwarts as first years, he   
had been disappearing. Repeatedly. For a day or two at a time. He   
would claim that he wasn't feeling well, or that his mother was ill, or   
he would just sneak out refusing explanations. They believed him for a   
long time (he did look sick, after all) but they eventually had to face   
the fact that he was lying. His mother wasn't sick. And if he was   
really ill himself- well, something was *wrong.* Why was he lying? Was   
he contagious? No, Madam Pomfrey would know. The teachers wouldn't put them in danger. Was it... Was he... James couldn't figure it out, and that bothered him. It wasn't good for roommate relations, either. Sirius was taking all this as a personal affront, and the friendship that lay between the four of them, which seemed so special all last year, was strained. Remus refused to talk about it, refused to share, just set himself quietly apart, as if he didn't even care. Though James knew that wasn't true every time he looked Remus in the eye.   
  
It was reaching the breaking point. Something had to be done, and   
James had to do it, if he was to make sure everything turned out right.   
Now he just had to figure out what it was that had to be done. Maybe   
if he figured out Remus' secret? But he and Sirius had been discussing   
that for a while, and they really didn't have a clue. What was it he   
felt he needed to keep from them? From them, of all people! He sighed   
again and dragged himself up off the couch, brain racing. He paced for   
a while, but couldn't think of anything. Finally he threw himself down   
again, on the ground this time, next to the small window, and looked up   
into the starry night outside. It was bright out, for night. The sky   
was nearly cloudless, and the nearly full moon... The nearly...full   
moon... the moon... Once a month, the full moon...   
  
Oh my God.  
  
*****  
  
"Sirius? Sirius!"  
  
James was almost late for class the next morning; he finally fell   
asleep around the time dawn was breaking, and was woken up when Sirius threw   
a swiped scone at him after he got back from breakfast. He hadn't yet   
told Sirius what he figured out. He was excited, but decided not to   
wake anyone up so late, though he knew, wryly, that Sirius wouldn't have   
had any qualms if the position were reversed.   
  
He suffered through two excruciatingly long and boring periods (History   
of Magic was particularly torturous that day) and a very strained lunch   
where no one seemed to be meeting anyone else's eyes, James least of   
all. After the last period, James manhandled Sirius up to their dorm   
room with Peter, sensing something was up, followed hesitantly on their   
heels. Remus disappeared, to the library probably.   
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
"Tonight. Remus is going to disappear again, tonight"  
  
James wasn't going to hold back. He figured Peter had as much a right to   
know. We had to get this all in the open, now.  
  
"What?"  
  
"A werewolf. Don't you see? It's the full moon tonight, and if I'm   
right, he'll disappear. A werewolf, Sirius."  
  
*****  
  
Remus had a quiet walk, so there was very little warning when he was   
approaching our dorm. Peter had time enough to throw his Magical   
Monsters textbook under his bed, when the door creaked softly open. There he   
was, behind it. Pale as a ghost and looking warily at us. He knew   
something was up. How could he not? How could he think they wouldn't figure   
it out?   
  
"Remus."  
  
"I... I... what is it? I can't. I have to go."  
  
"Remus!"  
  
Shock. Betrayal. An undercurrent of anger.  
  
He closed the door behind himself, and leaned back against it for   
support.  
  
"I, I'm sorry. I have to go."  
  
"We know, Remus. We know what you are." Sirius. Harshly.  
  
"I...What? No."  
  
"It's a full moon tonight." James spoke up, his voice steady, and not   
so emotional as Sirius'. Remus looked back, his calm slipping. He   
opened his mouth as though to deny it, but no sound came out. Instead, he   
started to tremble. Sirius stepped forward, and started to speak   
again.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?"  
  
Angrily, not gently.  
  
"Remus, why didn't you tell us you're a... a werewolf?"  
  
At that, he turned and bolted, slamming the door behind him. Sirius   
started to swear, but James grabbed his arm.  
  
"Follow him," he said. "We have to follow him." Things weren't   
supposed to be going this way! They weren't supposed to be fighting! Remus   
wasn't supposed to be running! The truth could only bring them closer   
together, stop the fighting... right?  
  
"The invisibility cloak... hurry." To his surprise, Peter grasped the   
edge of the cloak, and hauled himself under it along with the two of   
them. This was crazy anyway, he thought. They wouldn't be able to find   
him.  
  
But there he was, standing next to the entrance of the hospital wing, where James knew he would be. They waited silently in the corner. Madam Pomfrey came out in a few minutes.   
  
They saw her smile kindly at Remus for a second, then notice his   
expression. She leaned down to talk to him, but they didn't hear what was   
said. They just saw Remus shake his head and look down, apparently   
unwilling to talk. So, she walked with him down the halls, and they   
followed at a safe distance behind. She led them outside, and across the   
grounds. Then she stopped... right in front of the Whomping Willow, just   
out of the way of it's wildly swinging branches. James, Sirius, and   
Peter crept closer. She pulled a short rod out of her robes, and said a   
few words. The rod lengthened, and she used it to prod at one of the   
roots of the Willow... they crept closer, one of the knots on the   
root...and the Whomping Willow stopped moving. Madam Pomfrey and Remus   
proceeded into the darkness around the tree. Sirius made a move to follow, but James pulled him back roughly. He pulled off the invisibility cloak, traded a significant glance with Sirius, and turned to head back to the castle.  
  
They followed silently behind him, and no one said a word until they   
were five minutes back in the dorm.   
  
"We shouldn't have jumped on him like that," mummered James. He thinks   
we think..."  
  
Peter spoke for the first time. "What do we think?"  
  
More silence.  
  
Sirius spoke up. "He shouldn't have lied to us like that. He's been   
lying for nearly two years!"  
  
"Yes, but... I mean, aren't you supposed to keep something like that a   
secret? He had to know how we'd react." Peter, hesitant, but stating   
his mind.  
  
Sirius stayed silent for a moment, a pensive look on his face.   
  
James spoke up again, a very determined set to his voice. "Look guys-   
he's our friend. That's why we cared that he was lying to us in the   
first place, that's why we're going to support him now in spite of it. I   
mean, it's a shock that he's a werewolf and all, but the teachers must   
know, we can't be in any danger. And this, it doesn't change who he   
is. He's still our friend.  
  
"And he looked very upset. I don't want to fight like this anymore.   
Sirius, I know you're mad, but this is more important than that. And   
Peter, I know you're scared, but he, he can't hurt us. You know what the   
book said. Only when the moon's out. And he must be safe... under the   
Willow."  
  
Silence was the rule for most of the rest of that night, but James knew   
he had gotten through to Sirius and Peter. He knew Sirius cared about   
Remus anyway, he was just overcome with emotions that night, as he was   
prone to. They brought the book out again, and stared dully at the   
pictures. Sirius went down to the kitchens for a midnight raid, and Peter   
went too, anxious to find out where the secret entrance was. James   
stayed behind and stared out the window.  
  
*****  
  
"I think we should go and meet him."  
  
"Wh-what?"  
  
"Think of it James! The suns almost up anyway! We go down to the   
Willow with the invisibility cloak, and we talk to him... you know, let him   
know we're all right with it. Otherwise we won't see him again 'till   
tonight or tomorrow!"  
  
"We could go visit him in the infirm-"  
  
"How do we know he's there? We've never visited him there before."  
  
"How do we know he's not still a wolf?"  
  
"Peter, you know very well what the book says."  
  
"Yes, but..."  
  
"Actually, I agree with Sirius. We have the invisibility cloak...   
we've stayed up all night anyway, I want to get this settled."  
  
Peter bit his lower lip and looked at each boy in term. Then he   
surprised them by nodding his consent. "Me too. I agree too. I'll go too."  
  
Again they slipped the invisibility cloak over their heads, again they   
crept silently through the halls, down many hours of sleep, but wide awake on adrenaline. Peter was being remarkably good about it, quiet and concentrated. Finally they reached the Willow, and pulled off the cloak. Sirius started forward, then stopped when the Willow gestured threateningly. He looked back at James.  
  
"I don't know; a branch or something."  
  
Sirius darted in quickly and grabbed a long-ish looking branch. He   
whacked desperately at the knot they had seen Madam Pomfrey press, and   
the Willow stopped. And they were in.  
  
"Lumos!"  
  
The path was taking forever. It obviously led away from the grounds,   
and Sirius said it led right into Hogsmeade with the authority of   
someone who knew what he was talking about. Finally, it led right into...  
  
"A house? We're in a house." A boarded up house, James noticed.   
Well, that was good. But something was wrong here. Something felt off.  
  
"Remus?" Sirius was calling out. He went into one of the other rooms.   
"Remus?" James started searching corners too, while Peter stood there   
very rigidly with half-closed eyes.  
  
"Remus? Re-" James stopped short. It took his mind a couple of   
seconds to process the sight in front of him. Then a couple more seconds.   
In the meantime, Sirius rushed over to stand next to him. Peter held   
back for a moment, then skulked over silently. And Remus kept lying on   
the ground. Naked. Scarred. Bloody. Bloody as if he had been mauled by- by a terrible animal. And conscious. Alert enough to notice his three   
closest- only?- friends here, staring at him. The idea that they had come   
here to comfort Remus, to be with him and assure him they were okay with   
the fact that he was a werewolf buzzed at the surface of James' mind,   
just out of reach as he took in Remus' expression. Hurt. Shock.   
Anguish... and shame. This was what it meant to be a werewolf. This blood. Those marks. This was in no book. He hadn't thought...  
  
He hadn't thought, and this was all his fault. It was his fault he   
shared the secret. His fault they confronted him. His fault they   
followed him. His fault for coming here. And his fault for not being able to move or to say anything as Remus moved his closed his eyes and turned   
his head away.  
  
All of the sudden, there was a noise behind them, and James found   
himself able to move again.  
  
"Quick!"  
  
They all managed to struggle under the cloak and fit themselves in a corner before Madam Pomfrey came in. She had a cloak with her, and used it to cover Remus while checking him over. She mummered a few spells under her breath, and Remus was able to sit up, though he still looked semi-conscious and injured.   
  
"Oh no. It was particularly bad this time, wasn't it dear?"  
  
He made no reply, just simply stared at the floor. After a few more   
minor spells, the nurse put a charm on him, helped him up, and supported   
him as they walked out the door and started the long trip back to   
Hogwarts.  
  
The cloak came off, and the room was silent once again.  
  
*****  
  
They all agreed they were going to be as gentle and supportive of Remus   
as they possibly could, though they had no idea what they could say.   
James mentally rehearsed a lot, wanting to get it exactly perfect. He   
didn't return to the dorms that night, which was semi-unusual, but not   
extraordinarily so. But when night fell the second day, they went from   
simple fretting to distressed. They finally decided to pay a visit to   
the hospital wing, though just to make sure he was physically alright-   
James didn't want to go barging in there to force a confrontation   
again. But when they got there, the news they received did not put their   
minds at ease. According to Madam Pomfrey, Remus had been released back to his dorm over an hour ago. After assuring her they had just come from the library, not the dorms, and, yes, the reason they were checking was because Remus himself told them he wasn't feeling well, they dashed back to the dorm to regroup.  
  
James knew of course where he must have gone, despite Peter's   
stutterings about checking the library or someplace. And forced confrontations aside, it was suddenly the most important thing in the world that the three of them get to him as soon as possible.  
  
*****  
  
He was in the same room as before, but in the corner, huddled, wand out   
casually in one hand, eyes fixed on the large stain in the middle of   
the floor.  
  
"Remus?" It came out more tentative and hoarse than anything James had   
ever said before in his entire life. Sirius walked past him and set   
himself next to Remus against the wall, keeping his eyes on the stain   
also. James tried again.  
  
"Remus?"  
  
And the tears started. He finally looked up at James, eyes full of   
them (but not a single one more than Sirius, right next to him) with such   
a look of begging and quiet desperation in his eyes that it hit James like   
a two ton weight.  
  
In the end, none of James' rehearsed speeches were used. None needed to   
be. Acceptance and support were most effectively communicated without   
words.  
  
*****  
  
This might have been where it ended. But though James saw one problem   
solved- the only fighting going on in the dorm now was the usual,   
between Sirius and himself, and Remus lost a bit of his haunted look,   
another problem still loomed large in his mind. Remus hadn't been very   
forthcoming with details, and no one wanted to pressure him, but James of   
course had a clear idea of what went on once a month. And he just   
couldn't accept that Remus had to go through that, that torture at all, much   
less so often. Did that happen to all werewolves?   
  
James knew that their kind had been around for thousands of years, and   
that he was just a twelve year old wizard, but he just couldn't get the   
idea out of his head. Remus was his friend. There had to be a way to   
make things all right. He would do whatever it took.  
  
fin  
  
  
  
  



	2. Story One: Recklessness

Four Sins

Story One: Recklessness

*****

The Forbidden Forest was dark and damp and deep. And forbidden, which was probably its greatest virtue, at least in Sirius Black's mind. James sometimes said, half jokingly, that revealing his invisibility cloak to Sirius was the biggest mistake he'd ever made. He'd long since abandoned the principle that others could use the cloak only if he joined them. Sirius loved to steal it and go roaming, deeper and deeper. He wasn't afraid of anything; not getting caught, not getting in trouble, not getting eaten by the unknown beasts who growled and moaned rather creepily in the darkness, and sometimes even in the brightness of a lazy Saturday afternoon. When he was at school, around people, he made sure he was in the middle of things; the life of the party, or just the Transfiguration class, but even Sirius Black needed his alone time, so he was pleased that James gave up so easily his insistence on following him. But he did share some of his more exciting stories with his friends, most notably the time he met the centaurs and they recognized him, and talked about him like he wasn't even there. That had creeped the others out, Remus especially, since he knew about centaurs, but Sirius thought it was cool. Today was a Saturday, and he would normally be itching to go out, but he was doing something much more fun instead. Studying. Not that boring type Uric-the-Oddball studying, but learning about something he wanted to know. Something relevant. How to become an Animagus. It was the best idea James had ever come up with, although that wasn't saying too much; Sirius was usually the idea man for group projects. But even he had to admire the genius of this one. If they were in animal form, they could be with Remus every month when he transformed into a werewolf. Plus, well, he could be an animal at will! He could go farther than ever into the Forbidden Forest! He could execute plans in Hogsmeade under the perfect disguise! Helping Remus would just be a bonus, although a nice one. And working on this all together made them happy, and a lot more comfortable than they had been in nearly a year.

The night they found out Remus was a werewolf stuck in Sirius' brain like a failed test whose consequences he couldn't ignore, even though he tried. It seemed unfair; they were only twelve years old, nothing that serious should have happened to his group of friends. A month later, he had gone out with the cloak to the Forest to sit quietly under the full moon and listen to all the sounds. It bothered him too much, so he didn't do that again, and just concentrated on acting like everything was perfectly normal. He hated to admit it, but he was glad James took the approach he did. First, (without Remus knowing) he researched all the methods of curing a werewolf, but that was unsuccessful, all the information was either on warding off, killing, or, in the case of the restricted section, different gruesome spells you could do with parts of a werewolf's body. Sirius was almost sorry he agreed to help James swipe those books. James spent a lot of time brooding after that, and reading any literature he could get his hands on. Remus always looked really uncomfortable whenever he caught James with one of the books, and even though nothing was ever said, on all of those occasions, Sirius had to tail out of there and wander the forest.

But everything was okay now. After McGonagall's lecture on transfiguration, James had remembered that werewolves weren't a threat to and suggested that they become Animagi. Sirius had enthusiastically agreed, and even Peter wanted in, without them having to pressure. And then, miraculously, Remus was receptive to the idea. Receptive, then agreeable, then filled with barely contained enthusiasm. They were afraid he would have been awkward or embarrassed, like usual, but this idea focused on them, rather than him. And the more they worked at it, the more they promised they would do it for him, the more light came into his eyes, and the more he would talk to them about it; what it was like, what he remembered, how he was bitten, even- a little- how it felt. And even though they knew they still had years left to go, on they worked.

*****

"Who has my beans?"

"What?"

"My Every-Flavour Beans! Who has them? I want a couple more of the red ones."

"This one is kind of orange-ish."

"Give that here!"

"I don't have the bag, just this bean. I'm afraid of it."

"Be quiet, Peter, I have the bag. I'm picking out the white ones," Sirius said distractedly. James looked disgusted.

"The white ones? They're all so horrible!"

"Exactly."

"Here." Remus pushed the orange bean to Peter. "Have this one."

"It's not red!"

"Maybe it's pumpkin."

"Maybe it's carrot, I had an orange one that was carrot once before."

"Doesn't look like carrot. Looks unnatural."

"Oh, this is impossible!" James heaved his book across the room. "We'll never get to the next step until McGonagall teaches us intermediate living object transfiguration at least."

Sirius frowned exaggeratedly. "I though we agreed we didn't need McGonagall for anything. And that does look unnatural. Give it here."

"You're sure it's not pumpkin?"

"It's impossible to learn that level of transfiguration out of a book, especially with less than three years experience. And don't eat that in front of me."

"I think you're pronouncing it wrong."

"They should have books that pronounce things for you."

Sirius laughed at that one. "Books that say the spells? I'd love that! You could open it up and the book would curse you with a hair-losing charm!"

"Sirius, I doubt sincerely a book would be able-"

"Shut up. Anyway, I thought it was a good idea. Besides, I'm not the one who got caught out of the dorms because I pronounced 'nox' wrong. Who pronounces 'nox' wrong?!"

"Shut up."

"You shut up! And give me my orange bean!"

James rolled his eyes at Remus, but he was grinning. Even Remus looked amused, probably remembering that night Sirius decided to try out those new spells; the first night they were at Hogwarts. But James knew he had to get them back on track, and he knew just how to do that. "Gosh," he said loudly, "I can't wait until this is over with and I'll be able to turn into a cheetah."

"A cheetah? A cheetah? "Sirius turned to look at him doubtfully. "You won't turn into a cheetah, they're all fast and graceful. You'll turn into an ostrich." A cheetah? _James is mental_, thought Sirius. _Cheetahs aren't indigenous to Hogwarts, you'd never be able to blend in as a cheetah._

"I want," said Peter importantly, as though this was the first time he had stated his opinion on this matter, "to be a bear. A very big and scary bear."

"Our Sirius is going to be a dog, of course. He's stated so, many times, he'd be so embarrassed if he turned out to be-"

"A millipede?"

"Nah, a centipede."

"A pissant." Laughter followed by Sirius whacking everyone with his pillow.

James took on a thoughtful expression. "I do wish you could choose your animal. It would make things a lot more fun, even if we'd probably all end up choosing the wrong animals for ourselves."

Sirius rolled his eyes and ignored the lecture. "Hey James, I bet things would go so much faster if we looked at some of the restricted Transfiguration books."

"No."

"Come on, I bet there's some real advanced stuff in there."

"No."

"You won't get in trouble, I'll go alone…"

"No, come on Sirius, you know we already got all the books we need out of the restricted section."

"We found out what books we could use might be in there and got those. But there could be books we don't even know about, books that could help us, books that could speed things up."

"Sirius, we have plenty of material, we just need more lessons."

"I suppose so." He sighed, knowing James would hold firm. He got up from his position in the circle on the floor, then flopped down on his bed.

"Tired, Sirius?" asked Remus. "What were you up to last night? Not sneaking into the Forbidden Forest again?" 

"Yeah Sirius, when will you grow out of that and start sneaking into the girls dorm?"

"Don't encourage him!"

"Muphmuph," said Sirius. "Forbidden Forest." He brightened a little. "It was great. I heard something new. More like a screaming than a howl, but low pitched." He noticed Peter's expression. "And it was really loud too, like it was close by. So I started slowly creeping towards it…"

"Oh, stop it Sirius."

"It's true. You guys don't believe me 'cause you're too scared to go in there yourselves. 'Cause you know what's in there."

"Because we believe you?"

Sirius could have felt slightly affronted at the slander his friends were throwing at him, but instead, as he thought of the forest and its million and one treasures, and his friends all around him, he felt slightly magnanimous. "We-ell, if you don't believe me, you should just go with me sometimes."

"No," laughed James, "I've tried that."

"That was years ago! Back before I discovered Tree Gnomes are harmless, and heading due west into the forest takes you to much more interesting ground. Come on, it's a grand idea. I'll be your guide. Tonight, we'll sneak out of-"

"No!" shrieked Peter. "The Forbidden Forest at night?"

"I do it all the time. I know that forest inside and out, come on, it'll be so much fun."

"Not at night."

"Peter's right, maybe we shouldn't go at night… but it does sound like a fair idea. No lie, Sirius, you've seen unicorns in there?"

"Of course I have. But we've got to go at night. That's when all the really cool stuff comes out." Which was true, of course, but Sirius was having second thoughts. Did he really want to share his forest with these other people? People who couldn't even appreciate its greatest assets? Then again, James was looking kind of excited. And he did have that certain gleam in his eye that usually promised fun. "C'mon, guys."

"Alright."

"Yeah!"

"No. Well, not at night. Please?"

"That's all right Peter, you don't have to come with us." Sirius knew exactly what sort of ammunition to use on his friend.

"No, please guys, not at night. Please?" Sirius saw Peter searching the other faces vainly and realized he was alone. Then he gulped back his scared face and put on one that kind of looked brave, if you squinted at it for a while. "Well, okay then. We'll just have to go at night."

"Tonight."

*****

The invisibility cloak they all huddled under was ditched as soon as they got inside the forest, so there would be no more tripping accidents. They headed slowly and silently (well, more silent than normally, anyway) into the forest, deeper and deeper. After an hour had passed, they hadn't seen any wild beasts yet, but for some reason these rather large bird-type things had swooped down past them a couple of times. Sirius had never seen them before, but then again, he reasoned, he was usually invisible. And making less noise. He winced as Peter stepped on another branch that he and James and Remus had avoided. He looked back and James motioned for him to stop.

"Is this as far as you normally go?" he asked, very quietly.

"No, further. I can usually go a little faster."

"When are we going to see things?"

"What are those birds?" Peter nobly did not ask to go back.

"Shhhhh! What's that?" Sirius wished very much to be able to answer and tell them all about it, but the truth was, he had never seen a silver horse like that before.

"It's a unicorn." Remus breathed. He started very slowly towards it, and it stood stock still. Sirius was afraid it was about to bolt, but Remus was getting closer and closer, and James started towards it too, and it only lowered its head a little. Sirius couldn't believe his eyes. **He** had never seen a unicorn before, not even a full-grown white one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peter slowly start towards it, then stop in mid-step, holding himself very, very still.

"Sirius" he whispered. Sirius craned his head over to him a little.

"Sirius." More frantically. His eyes were wide. All of the sudden, the unicorn turned and fled silently into the woods. As Sirius turned to look, he felt something whooshing past him and...

"AAAAAAGH!" Peter! Where was Peter?

"Peter!" cried James, pointing upwards. He was at the top of the nearest tree, being held onto by some bird which looked scary and scaly enough to be a dragon. Sirius wondered dazedly if it breathed fire.

"HELP! HELP!"

"DON'T WORRY, PETER, I'LL GET YOU DOWN!"

"What do you think" James asked Remus, "Expelliarmus?"

"Don't be stupid."

"AAAAAGGGHHH!"

"STOP SCREAMING PETER! SOMEONE MIGHT HEAR YOU!" It was uncharacteristically Remus instead of James who cuffed him on the head.

"Okay, a burning charm should work, but it's going to have to be strong to pierce his skin."

"Don't miss. And, umm, what happens after he falls 200 feet?"

"We'll think of something. HANG ON! DON'T MOVE!"

If anyone could do this, thought Sirius, it was James. He and Remus set their wands at the ready. A shot a red blasted from his wand, and went so close, so close, right on the claw, right next to Peter, but didn't hit him. He screeched anyway, as he fell.

"Windgardium Leviosa!" James and Remus waited until Peter was only a couple of yards from the ground, then sat their spells in unison. It worked- but just quite. Peter slowed down, and instead of hitting the ground, was sent backwards, and in an upward direction again, at what would have been a very fast speed if the tree hadn't been in his way. They crowded around him.

"Peter! Peter, are you okay?"

He opened his eyes very slowly. "Guys… can we go back now?"

*****

The next day, Sirius felt a little bit uncomfortable and guilty, but, since it was really the bird's fault and not his own, he decided to not discuss the incident with the others. 

Peter found that eating lots of chocolate made him feel better, and Sirius, deciding that was a good enough philosophy, broke out his emergency stash of Chocolate frogs and passed them around.

"So," said Remus, unable to read Sirius' mind, "we've decided to not go back to the Forest again for another couple of-"

"Days?"

"Years?"

"Decades."

"Makes sense to me. Actually, I liked the idea of sneaking into the girl's dorm. Or better yet, the Slytherin dorm, so I can try out some of those curses from the restricted book I swiped when James wasn't looking."

"Hey-"

"I've got it!" announced Remus, who was looking at what turned out to be the orange-ish bean. "Yam."

"Yam?"

"Yuck. I dunno."

"Throw it here," said Sirius, who was feeling especially adventurous.

"With pleasure," Remus responded, flinging it.

Sirius popped it in his mouth and made a face.

"What?"

He burst out laughing. "It's orange."


	3. Story Two: Selfishness

Selfish

Story Two: Selfishness

*****

The bed was warm and soft and comfortable. It molded to Peter's body as if by magic. Peter grabbed his pillow tighter and tried to ignore the sounds of movement and voices around him. It shouldn't be time to get up yet, surely he had another hour or two. But one of the voices dropped lower and took on a tone Peter knew too well. It was time to get up, or he would have to face another of Sirius' unfunny pranks. With a sigh he pushed the sheets off of him. 

"I'm up, I'm up, don't even bother." 

"We wouldn't want for you to miss breakfast, Peter." 

"Yeah, we're going to need a lot of energy before Defense Against the Dark Arts today. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Great. Peter hated Defense Against the Dark Arts. More so than any of his other classes, even Potions, which he was hopeless at! He just didn't like the teacher, Professor Groate. He was new this year; Professor Quincy had left last year, apparently because of an accident involving Professor Kettleburn, Professor Sinistra, and a wild Chimera. Professor Quincy hadn't been bad at all, Peter reflected, but this Professor Groate seemed absolutely out to get him, he way he kept calling on him in class, a if he was expected to know the answer. His tests were particularly vexing too. He hadn't even managed to pass the last one, and most of the time he did pass his tests, even if the grades weren't the best. Remus noticed the look on his face. "Come on Peter, it won't be so bad. I'll help you study before the next test, and you'll do fine." 

"That would be perfect, if there was a way we could actually not go to the class too." 

"It won't be that bad." 

"Yes it will." 

***** 

They all agreed afterwards that Peter had been right. Professor Groate had decided that an oral quiz would benefit the entire class. It wasn't so bad for Remus, who had actually studied, or James or Sirius, whose questions had been amazingly simple-everyone favored them! And he could have answered that werewolf question correctly - but of course, he had received what must have been the hardest question in the class. The defense curses were hard, and they had just started learning them this year, it wasn't his fault he had been to tired to start his reading last night, or the night before. 

Walking through the halls after class, even James and Sirius were subdued, still a little bit in awe of the dressing-down Groate had given Peter (and James, after he had been caught mouthing the correct curse when Peter turned to get a better look). A couple of times, Sirius seemed likely to break the tension, but slouched again after a look from Remus. Transfiguration was next. Peter's favorite subject, although that wasn't saying much. But he did do the reading for this one. Most of the time. Or James and Sirius explained it to him. But in spite of the fact that he was interested in the material, he still didn't like Professor McGonagall. She was another one of those that fancied James, always smiling at him and calling on him. And once, Peter had overheard her talking to Professor Flitwick about them. 

"Can you believe what Black and Potter did to the Slytherin Quidditch team? I only wish I had some proof to nail them with." 

He was still mad about that one. As though that was all there was to it! As though he and Remus didn't exist. Peter did hold the bird for that one. 

Transfiguration was easy today. There was no practical applications, just McGonagall talking on and on, and waving her wand dramatically every once and a while. Peter took this as an invitation to daydream, although to his credit, his thoughts were Transfiguration-related. If everything went well, in less than a year, he would be an Animagus. An unregistered, illegal Animagus. The thought made his stomach turn. He was so anxious to do it, to prove he could do it, when no one outside their little group- James' group- had ever tried anything like this. He would be so special. But the after part, that was what was worrying him. It would be fun, sure, but also kind of scary. Because Remus was a werewolf. And when he was an Animagus, he would have to spend time with him when he was in wolf-form. That was the idea, really, and Peter thought it was a good one. They hated seeing Remus going alone every month to all that suffering, and wanted to help. But on the other hand… 

No, James had assured him there was no chance he'd get attacked or eaten in animal form, and James was always right. So he just wouldn't think about that scary snarling beast in the book in the library, he would just think about pale, harmless Remus. And what cool kind of animal he could be. Maybe a tiger. Or a lion. Then he wouldn't be afraid. 

***** 

Peter always managed to lose Sirius, Remus, and James during Hogsmeade visits. Somewhere between the owlery, the joke shop, Honeydukes, meeting friends from other houses, and telling horrific ghost stories next to the Shrieking Shack (that one was Sirius) they had decided third year to all just meet at the Three Broomsticks when they were done. Peter usually spent the time alone in Honeydukes. When he reached the Three Broomsticks the Saturday after his humiliation in Defense Against the Dark Arts, James and Sirius were at a corner table looking quite pleased with themselves. They called Peter over quickly. 

"Peter, you'll never guess what I have!" James sounded very excited. He pilled out a bag from the joke shop. "They're called Dungbombs." 

"Dungbombs? Are they anything like the Reeking Rags?" 

"Better. Much, much better. They're new! They're experimental, not even on the market yet, but Mr. Realton said I could buy some." Of course. Mr. Realton liked James. He only scowled at Peter when he came in, but that was probably because he had once accidentally dropped a one-of-a-kind fake exploding snitch, and no one had ever seen it again. 

"So they're better than Reeking Rags?" Peter hated Reeking Rags. Just last month, one of those Slytherins had put one in his bag, and he hadn't figured it out until after supper. 

"Like I said, they're experimental. I think they explode. Hence the name, you know, bombs." James smiled and slid the bag over to Peter, who looked at him, surprised. "They're for you. Just a little don't-get-discouraged-gift. You know that you're not the only one who got your question wrong yesterday. Defense Against the Dark Arts is hard." Peter smiled. It was so great having James as a friend. 

"Plus, we know there are a couple of Slytherins you're dying to test them out on." 

"Test what out on?" Remus asked, coming up to the table. The three seated exchanged wicked grins. 

***** 

A month later, they were back in Hogsmeade, and the Dungbombs remained untested. Every time Sirius or James had indicated to him frantically that it was a good opportunity, he had just not had the nerve. He supposed they must be getting impatient with him, but he really did not want to get caught. Professor Groate had given him a detention just last week for talking in class. 

He had only wanted to know the classification of a Griffin so he didn't look foolish in front of the class again. But Professor Groate had caught him. Caught him before he could find out the answer too. He was in deep trouble when it came to that class, and he knew it. His last homework assignment had been handed in half-finished. He had tried, he had, but then Aryeh had asked him to play Exploding Snap, and she was very popular, he couldn't say no. Lily Evans was there too, but not playing. They had all had a very nice time laughing and talking and having fun, except they kept asking him questions about James, which kind of bothered him. 

By the time class came the next day, he had forgotten that he was going to ask one of his friends if he could copy, and had to hand it in like it was. If that wasn't enough, they had found out that the next test was going to be this week coming up. Remus had promised to help him study, but Peter doubted that anything but a miracle or some very good cheating could save him. 

Lost in his thoughts, Peter clutched his bag of sweets and turned the corner slowly, knowing it was early and none of the others would probably be there yet. As the Three Broomsticks came into view, he saw that there was a whole gang of Slytherins huddled in a corner right next to it. Luckily, none of them saw him, so he was able to quickly duck back into the side road. He wished fervently that Sirius or James were here, as he heard them coming closer. Suddenly, he remembered the bag of Dungbombs, still on him. Thinking of the way they had been laughing the day of the Reeking Rag, he unexpectedly found his courage. Acting as quickly as he could, he rounded the corner, threw the package as hard as he could, and dived back around the side._ Did they see him? Did it work?_ A most horrific smell hit his nose as agitated shouts rang out. One voice quickly drowned out all the rest. 

"Mister Lestrange! Mister Wilkes!" 

It was McGonagall. Merlin's beard, it was McGonagall. _Did they see him? _

"Which of you threw this? Just look at my robes! What is this? What is this smell?" 

Peter opened his eyes to see Lawrence rounding the corner on him. 

"You!" he shrieked. He ran up and grabbed a great bunch of Peter's robes. "Professor! Professor!"   
  
In the meantime, Severus was speaking up against McGonagall. "It was Potter, Professor! I was in the store when he bought them. The shopkeeper said they were experimental, and he hadn't sold them to anyone else. You can ask him." He sounded very pleased with himself. 

"Look!" cried Lawrence, dragging Peter in front of the teacher. 

"One of Potter's gang!" 

Professor McGonagall fixed her eyes beadily on Peter. "Did Potter throw this?" she asked. 

__

Of course, they think James threw it and ran, leaving poor Peter behind, too slow, like always. 

McGonagall sighed. "There's no use in covering up for him, Pettigrew. I'll just add your detentions on top of his. Now, tell me what happened." 

__

It would be so easy to lie, to say James did it. He did buy it, after all. I wouldn't have had them to throw if he didn't buy them. 

"Well?" 

__

And he could just see James, running ahead, leaving him behind, not even looking back, not even bothering to check- 

"That's it, Pettigrew!" 

"It was James. James threw it, and he ran away. I saw him." 

"And you didn't run away too?" 

"No, I-I tripped." He was bad at lying, but so easily believed. 

"I suppose Black and Lupin were there too?" 

"N-no, Professor." Another scowl. "They didn't throw anything." 

"Very well, Pettigrew. He will have to answer to me when I get back." She brushed her robes, then wrinkled her nose and headed towards the Three Broomsticks. Peter turned and disappeared into the ally before any Slytherin could follow. He headed straight back to the castle. 

***** 

Sirius was the next one back to their dorm room later that night. 

"Peter!" He went over to Peter's bed and started to try to pull the covers off his head. "I don't believe it! McGonagall caught up with us in the Three Broomsticks, and she had quite an amusing tale to tell." He managed to rip the cover off, and Peter was surprised to see him grinning. "What a smell she had on her! You prat, did you know you got her with the Slytherins? You should have seen her robes! I didn't think they were supposed to stain like that. I guess they need a little more work." He noticed Peter's half-horrified and half confused statement, and laughed. "And you'll never guess what happened! That slimy git Snape told McGonagall they were James' bombs, so she came right up to us, and started shrieking hysterically. I can't believe you threw all of those without us there. It must have been spectacular." Peter still wasn't saying anything, and still had the same statement, so Sirius rushed on. "Don't worry. We didn't mention you, she has no idea you really threw them. James took all the responsibility, and got three detentions out of it. He and I are tied this week now. But it was worth it, just to see the look on her face- and that smell!" He laughed again. "I can't wait until those things go on the market for real." 

"But James- he's not mad at me?" 

"Don't be stupid Peter, it's Snape's fault. What were we supposed to do blame you? Well, I might of, but you know James. Of course he's not mad." 

That didn't really make Peter feel any better, but Sirius had stopped noticing. He grabbed his hand and started pulling. "Come on. They're waiting for us at supper downstairs."   


***** 

After a couple of days, his stomach stopped hurting so much. He had apologized to James, who had waved it off. (What are friends for?) And James had gotten very easy detentions from McGonagall, easier than Peter would have. He would have probably gotten more than three, too. James didn't mind it, so he wouldn't either. It wasn't such a big deal. 

He was very bored, and no one but a bunch of seventh years were in the common room, so he went to the dorm room and broke out the Every Flavor Beans he had bought Saturday. First, he separated all of the brown Beans from the rest and then started trying each of them out to find a chocolate one. It wasn't until Remus came through the door much later that he remembered he had studying plans in he library with every defense book he had neglected to read. Remus gave him a frown that was more concern than anything else. 

"I'm sorry I forgot, Remus." 

"Well, I got some studying done at least. But Peter, what about your defense grade? I don't mind staying up, if you still want the help." 

"I don't think it'll make a difference," Peter said, dejectedly. 

"Nonsense." 

"Oh, Remus, I don't know… I try so hard, but I just don't think I can do it." 


	4. Story Three: Conceit

Four Sins: Conceit

Story Three: Conceit

*****

After Peter had eaten his last blue Bean, and Sirius had finally stopped parading around in his new bright purple pajamas, everyone in the room lay very still, as if in sleep. After waiting patiently for almost an hour, James Potter decided to risk his luck and pushed his covers back slowly, then padded to the door. He couldn't help but crack a smile when he made it halfway down the common room stairs unmolested. Not many people could slip by Sirius Black like that. Especially when Sirius seemed to be looking for reasons to pester James lately. 

The common room looked deserted, which was perfectly natural, considering it was much past midnight. His sixth years' boy's dorm was usually the last to clear out, and the last to fall asleep, so they found it very rare when another person was there when they doubled back for some mischief. Tonight, he hoped, would be an exception, because he really felt like breaking some rules.

"James?" she whispered from the entrance to the girls' dorms.

"Lily." He looked over at her and smiled. She had made it. She moved towards him.

"It looks like a beautiful night out tonight."

"Shall we find out?"

She looked at him guardedly. "If you want to."

This was a bit of a big moment for James. He had assumed that Lily, like all the Gryffindors, and most other people within a fifty-mile radius, knew that James and his friends were prone to sneaking out and having fun without getting caught. How they did that was a very closely guarded secret, known only to the four of them. Until tonight, at least. James and Lily had been dating for months, since she had returned from Christmas vacation. He hadn't really had all that experience with the girls before, but he knew that Lily was someone special, someone he wanted to be with, and that she was someone trustworthy. He slowly slipped the invisibility cloak out from under his robes. Her eyes grew wide.

"It's big," he whispered. "Can fit, oh, about three or four people underneath." Her expression turned to one of delight.

"I don't believe it! How in the world-"

"Family heirloom."

"You know, Jon claimed you knew an Invisibility spell, that you've been using one since first year."

"Who says I haven't?"

"And Willard told all the Slytherins you just Charmed Filch and all the teachers. Think they believed him too."

"Nothing so grand or illegal, I'm afraid."

"But still pretty illegal."

"Not technically." He held it out for her. "Now, we're going to have to huddle very close together to both fit under here."

"Oh. You boys must like that." He didn't dignify that with a response. They headed out and down the stairs without further discussion, just a bit of girlish giggling. As soon as they were outside the castle, James directed them towards the lake. He knew a lot of really fun and action-packed places one could go after dark at Hogwarts, but most of them, you shouldn't really take a lady. The lake seemed pretty and romantic enough, plus he had never been attacked there by any sort of dangerous wild beast, so he figured it would be perfect. Lily found another pleasant surprise when they arrived; still-chilled butterbeer, and her favorite, Chocolate Frogs.

"Oh good, it's still safe."

"How did you do this?"

"As Willard pointed out, I am quite good at Charms. Not up to your standards maybe, but-"

"No, I mean… never mind." She sat down and unwrapped the Frog, but didn't eat it. Instead, she looked out over the lake. "It's so beautiful."

James was dying to say something wonderfully romantic in response, but bit his tongue, letting her enjoy the moment and concentrate on the view. He sat down softly next to her. She turned to him, and he could see her glittering green eyes and soft red hair in the moonlight as she leaned towards him. James closed his eyes and savored the perfection of the moment.

*****

Perfect was a word James heard a lot. From teachers, describing tests. From Sirius, describing plans. From fans, describing their Quidditch record this year. And last year. And the year before that. Oh, third year, too. As he entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, James heard the word once again, but this time, he wasn't happy about it.

"Look, it's perfect James Potter. He's decided to join us mere mortals for breakfast." Severus Snape was apparently still smarting from the thrashing Gryffindors had given Slytherintwo weeks earlier. Severus was not on the team, nor was he traditionally a big fan, but tensions between their two factions had been running high lately, and he had seized the opportunity to make all sorts of nasty comments and predictions against him personally. The Slytherins had been very amused at anything having to do with tearing James down, so they had laughed heartily, and Snape had made more comments, and everyone became overconfident, and secure they would win… until about ten minutes into the game. Sirius still claimed there must have been some most-baskets-in-least-time record broken during that match. Severus had disappeared for a few hours after that, but reappeared making snide comments again after some overzealous classmates kept carrying James on their shoulders and conjuring up fancy goblets for him to drink out of. 

"I see they still haven't cleared a spot for you at the main table. You should really complain about that, I'm sure the teachers would be happy to oblige." James stopped in front of him and glared.

"Would you do me a favor Severus? I have an Arithmancy test coming up, and I need you to state I'll fail, just so I can be sure I'll ace it."

Snape glared at him with more hatred than he remembered. "You're not so special, Potter. You're not so perfect."

"I never claimed to be."

"Right." Snape looked him up and down. James bristled at the sarcasm, but being the better man, he headed to his table, to a spot right between Lily and Sirius. As he drew near, he heard Sirius' voice suddenly raise.

"And then, James took the dung, and-"

"Shut up, Sirius. No one's listing to you." Sirius gave him a hurt puppy-dog face. Lily laughed. James looked around. Aryeh, Lily's best friend, was sitting next to her looking interestedly at both himself and Sirius. Remus and Peter were sitting across, and James noticed Remus looked a bit pale even for him, for this time of the month. Remus shook his head and gestured to his tea in response to James's questioning look.

Peter spooned more eggs onto his plate, and looked at the girls mistrustfully, before turning his gaze to James. "Was that Snape bothering you again? We should really fix him good sometime."

Sirius glanced back at the Slytherin table behind him. "Maybe," he said casually. "Some of us might have other, more important things on our mind, though." James flushed. Lily and Aryeh exchanged significant girlish glances. 

Peter frowned. "What could be more important?"

Aryeh answered. "Well, we are in our sixth year, now. Isn't it time to put away such childish behavior, and start thinking about our futures?" Lily hid her head in her hands.

"Yes, well, James," Sirius no longer sounded the least bit amused. "You should think about things like that. Very important. Speaking of the future, I hope you haven't forgotten our future plans for tonight. We agreed tonight would be the night the four of us would meet… in our room. For… to study." James considered hiding his head in his hands too.

Sirius did not really like Lily, or the idea of her, anyway. James had tried to extol her good virtues, "Lily this, Lily that," but had quickly realized that Sirius didn't want to listen. It wasn't as though Sirius hadn't had his own girlfriend, or twenty- but those were just casual affairs, none lasting more than a week. And he hadn't borrowed the invisibility cloak; hadn't even asked. No, a night with Sirius Black meant a slow creep up to the Astronomy Tower, followed by a frantic retreat as soon as Filch caught up with them. Yet somehow, the girls, they were still fawning all over him.

Sirius had NOT been pleased when he found out James was going to spill about the invisibility cloak. It had lead to some rather testy words between them, where James was forced to point out that the cloak did not, in fact, belong to Sirius, but to him. Sirius had said he was perfectly correct to be wary. The four of them did, after all, have a lot of important secrets. James assured him the rest were safe… for now. Sirius remained unsatisfied. James thought he might be a little jealous because he was spending time with Lily he would ordinarily spend with Sirius, or the others. So, he was trying extra hard to make sure he still spent time with them, to assure Sirius he wouldn't be pushed out in favor of Lily- but he made it perfectly clear Lily wasn't going anywhere.

At least Sirius was being civil to Lily. They had gotten on all right before Christmas, Sirius couldn't object on those grounds. It wasn't as though James was dating a Slytherin. But James knew Sirius's feelings were perfectly clear when he had gotten back to his dorm late last night to find everyone sleeping peacefully, and his bed short-sheeted.

He looked at Sirius. "Of course I haven't forgotten about tonight."

*****

"Are you sure you're up to this Remus?" James asked.

"I'm fine, I told you."

Sirius did a little impatient jig. "Come on, Peter."

"I can't find my sock. Who stole my sock?"

"Yuck."

"What are we doing anyway?"

Sirius smiled that dangerous smile. "North-west corner."

"What? That's where we're going?"

"Yup. Way up."

"But-"

"We can't go there on a full moon, we don't really know if it's uninhabited. And we couldn't go before the whole Animagus thing, it was too far. Now, we can go."

"And I'll join you how?"

"On James' back. He already said you could ride."

"What about me? I'm so small, I can't run fast like you."

"You can ride in Remus's pocket."

"Oh."

"You can just not come, if you don't want to leave with one sock."

"No, no, one sock is fine." Peter hurriedly put on his shoes.

"Oh Peter, we have time, just-"

"We don't, and see, he's perfectly fine. Alright?"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this one?"

"Come on, we have to see what's up there."

"I bet it's a giant."

"A giant?"

"There are no giants up there!"

"I hope it's nothing. I mean, that's what we want to find, right? Nothing?"

"So we know it's safe to maraud?"

"Right, now come on."

"Wait!"

*****

As James galloped through the wood, he was barely aware of Remus on top, holding tight as he rode. Instead, he mostly concentrated on Padfoot, to his side, racing him forward in a rush. They made good time of it, and it was less than two hours before James sensed some sort of populated land ahead. He came to a stop, bowing quickly so Remus could slide off easily, then changed back into a human straight away.

Remus pulled Wormtail out of his pocket and put him on the ground, where he became a green-faced Peter. Padfoot circled back, and became Sirius without breaking stride. "What is it?"

"You're the canine, you tell me. I just smelled… something."

"Just the regular pungent forest. Nothing human."

"I smelled something. Come on." The boys followed James, silently.

"This is different from our side of the forest."

"Which is why we're exploring it, see, I bet it has all sorts of strange creatures we can mix with in the moonlight."

"And look. We don't have purple flowers like those."

"Shhhh."

"What?"

"Shhhh!" In the scarce light, they could see a little clearing in the trees. James crept closer and closer, before he could see a little cottage. "I told you someone lives here."

"Must be some sort of hermit, I'm sure there isn't anyone else for miles." 

It was a strange sort of cottage, very small, and made entirely out of straw. There was a little stable next to it, but he couldn't make out anything else.

"We shouldn't go any further."

"How will we know if its it's safe to trip here, then?"

"It's obviously not. We'll have to stay at least a mile away." James turned his head from the cottage to look at Sirius, and saw that Remus was a couple paces behind them, standing stock-still.

"Remus?" His face was white and his eyes were wide. James rushed back and grabbed his arm. "Remus!" He pitched forward, and would have landed on his face is James hadn't been there. He struggled to breathe, eyes sill wide.

"James!" Sirius gestured to the tree Remus was standing besides. It had some sort of strange drawing carved in its trunk. "It's a hex!"

"We passed it all right."

"We're not magical creatures. James, do something."

"I think I recognize that symbol." James struggled to think, with Remus swaying next to him. "It must be awfully powerful to repel a werewolf."

"A werewolf in human form?"

"It's the Raegilus-nonus, it has to be. It's strong."

"The what?"

"We have to break it."

"I can do it." Sirius looked at him expectantly.

He pulled Remus back a bit, away from the tree. "Inraegilnon-us!" He really, really hoped he got the pronunciation right. Next to him, Remus slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"He's breathing."

"Check his pulse."

"How do you check someone's pulse?"

"Remus? Remus!"

"Shhh!"

Remus stirred, opened his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Lets-lets not come here again," he said hoarsely.

*****

James carried Remus and Peter back to the castle in their human forms, and he said he didn't mind much, even though he secretly never planned on doing it again. Peter kept Remus awake, and from tipping over as James ran, and as soon as they all arrived back, they all crashed into bed. There were about five hours until breakfast.

James came down the next morning a little early, leaving the other three still in the showers. He wanted to get his alone-time in with Lily. 

"Did you have fun last night?"

"Of course! Studying is always fun, you know me."

She smiled. "Kipper?"

"Umm, no thank you."

She looked so pretty. He wished he could kiss her right then. But perhaps a dining hall crowded with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and Slytherins and Gryffindors wasn't the right place. Prefects should set examples after all.

"Where are Sirius and the others? Still sleeping?"

"Nah, they're coming down soon." James' mind went back to the problem of the day before- Sirius and Lily. There had to be some way that he could make them get along. Some way he could make things perfect.

Just then, the other three Marauders swarmed around, grabbing seats around him and Lily. She kept the smile on her face. Sirius looked suspiciously at the two of them. "What're you doing?"

"Just talking about last night. I do so love to study." Sirius snickered unkindly. 

Lily ignored them and turned to Remus. "Are you all right? You don't still have that headache, do you?"

Remus was looking paler than yesterday morning, and was rubbing his head in a non-exasperated way. "Yeah," he mumbled. "But I'll be okay."

James frowned and exchanged a glance with Sirius. Lily got up. "Come on you guys, its almost time for class. You really got down here late today."

*****

Remus slept through the next two classes, and during lunch, the four of them gathered in an empty classroom. Peter didn't even complain, though he'd missed breakfast.

"It's just a headache."

"Are you sure you don't feel worse because of the hex?" 

"Of course the hex made it worse."

"Wait, what?"

"I got hexed, and my head is killing me. It doesn't mean I'm still hexed, just that I was."

"Are you going to Madam Pomfrey?"

"Is that a good idea James?"

"I don't know, she could be able to tell you were hexed."

"I could tell her Sirius did it."

"I wish I knew if there was any way she could tell."

"It's only a headache anyway, maybe I'll just skip the next couple of classes."

"Without going to Pomfrey? You'll get a detention!"

"It's better than someone catching me sleeping. I'm just tired."

"I think you should go to Madam Pomfrey." Peter asserted.

"No, Peter, I'm fine."

"But what if you still have the hex on you?"

"He can't. I got it off. I mean… I must have. If it wasn't the Raegilus-nonus, or if my counter spell wasn't strong enough, it would have had no effect on him. But I broke the spell, so you're in no danger now."

"I don't know. He looks pretty bad."

"Remus, are you sure it's just a headache?" Remus sighed, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright… alright, listen. After class, we'll go to the library and find out as much as we can about the spell. If there's anything we missed, we'll be able to correct it."

"And Remus shouldn't go to Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," said Sirius. "We can't bring any adults into this. If they find out where we were last night, how we got there…"

James looked at Remus again, who met his gaze. _I'm sure it's just a headache. It has to be, I know my counter-curse worked. And if it isn't, I'll figure it out when we get to the library. Everything will be fine; Sirius is right. We can't bring any adults into this. It would ruin everything. _Remus looked tired, but cognizant. He lifted his eyebrow, and James nodded. Peter frowned.

*****

After class, James and Sirius headed to the library, as Peter went back to the dorms to check up on Remus. It took James two books and eight minutes to realize his mistake. He and Sirius rushed back to the dorms at top speed. When they got to the doorway of their room, they saw Aryeh peeking from behind their door. She quickly rushed back as they burst through. There, they saw Lily sitting on the bed next to an unconscious and very pale Remus.

"Is he breathing? Where's Peter!"

"Peter went for MadamPomfrey."

"What happened?"

"It's my fault." James took his wand out, and held it over Remus as Sirius shut the door.

"Inraegiplovon-us!" Why hadn't he recognized the extra triangle of circles over the carving in the first place?

"Raegiplovo-nonus?" Lily gasped. "But… but-"

"What happened? What's going on?" Aryeh asked, as Remus started to stir.

"He's still in bad shape. He's burning up."

"What's going on?"

"MadamPomfrey will be here soon."

*****

It was a close one, as Sirius said the next day. Madam Pomfrey immediately recognized the signs of the aftermath of a strong hex, but since James had broken it, she couldn't tell what kind, or where he had gotten it, so the secret was still safe. In fact, the teachers put a bit of pressure on the Slytherins for that, which they all would have enjoyed had things not been so serious. 

Remus was fine after a couple of days. He didn't get detentions in any of the missed classes, so that was good too. James felt terrible about the curse- he hadn't recognized the advanced version, and felt he should have known about it. Remus said he was just glad James knew what to do, and suggested that the next time they used or came across unfamiliar spells, they try and learn about them sooner, rather than later. Sirius was angry at Peter for directing the girls upstairs as he ran for Pomfrey; Peter explained that said he didn't want to leave Remus alone. Sirius repented a little, and after a tense day, started acting differently towards Lily. A little more… accepting. After all, she had played a small role in their adventure, and was showing herself worthy.

Lily still didn't know about the Animagi, or the Forbidden Forest adventures, but James told her that Remus was a werewolf. It was very tense; Remus was still unavailable in the hospital wing, and didn't know Lily was being told, but she had recognized the spell, and James figured a werewolf was one of the tamer magical creatures covered. She accepted it well, was very open-minded, and didn't question them about their other activities, which might have had a part in Sirius' new attitude towards her.

Aryeh didn't recognize the spell, but it was one of the ones briefly reviewed in seventh year. She wasn't really a scholar, and wouldn't be one to look it up, but they would have to decide to whether or not to tell her the truth about him before then, on the off chance she should remember. No one really expected her to take it well, but it would go over better in a quiet area in a close group of friends, rather than in a classroom with a bunch of other students. They would have to make a decision about that.

James and Lily went out again, and this time James did not wait until Sirius was- or was pretending to be- asleep. Sirius made no mention. As they walked outside, James let the stresses of the previous couple of day pass out of him into the brisk night air. After all, hadn't everything worked out in the end? For some reason his mind went back to second year, when they had discovered Remus was a werewolf, the last time he had been so afraid for his friend. He almost wished he could tell Lily about the Animagus, tell her that he had figured a way to keep Remus from the worst horrors of being a werewolf, that she didn't have to worry about it that much. But the moment passed, and James kept his friend's secret. Instead, he concentrated on beautiful Lily.

"Don't stare like that, James."

"I'm sorry. You're just so incredible." She flushed.

"You're the incredible one, James. You're just so… I'm so lucky."

"I'm the lucky one, Lily." He pulled a lily, wrapped in white tissue, from under his robe.

"Oh," she whispered. "Oh James, it's just… you always know what to do."

And with the moonlight shining down on her perfect face, he leaned in and kissed her.

__

A/N Thanks as always to Zsenya, my wonderful, patient, and extremely timely beta-reader. And thanks to everyone who reviews. Even one review makes it all worthwhile. I hope you liked this chapter, Aira. :-)


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